


Father's Day

by musicalenchantment



Category: American Gothic (TV 1995)
Genre: Gen, Mental Health Issues, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2019-09-28 08:56:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17179889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicalenchantment/pseuds/musicalenchantment
Summary: He’s forgotten how beautiful the ocean is. He hasn’t seen it in years, but when he looks out on the horizon and sees nothing but blue, there’s something to be said about it being life-changing. It’s opportunistic. Open.This vacation is going to be a good one, he thinks.





	Father's Day

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written on my roleplay blog drmattcrower.tumblr.com in June of 2015. I'm still sad about this show and this character and there isn't enough fiction that still exists about him (or the show in general) so I figured I'd back it up here.
> 
> Enjoy.

It’s a bright, sunny Father’s Day in Trinity when Matt decides he’s had enough.

He looks out the window of his room at the boarding house at the street below, the people walking by confirming his notion that it’s going to be a hot day full of celebrating. Stifling as families reconnect for the first time in months.

He wants to get out. No - _needs_ to get out.

“Claire,” he calls as he knocks on her door gently, meeting her eyes with a smile when she opens it. “We’re going on a vacation.”

 

Driving up the coast is surprising for two reasons - firstly, Matt is surprised he’s even gotten past the border of Fulton county. He figured something terrible would’ve happened to him had he chosen to leave. It’s nothing short of a miracle that he hasn’t exploded after leaving South Carolina, actually.

Secondly, he’s forgotten how beautiful the ocean is. He hasn’t seen it in years, but when he looks out on the horizon and sees nothing but blue, there’s something to be said about it being life-changing. It’s opportunistic. Open.

This vacation is going to be a good one, he thinks.

Matt’s family had a house in Martha’s Vineyard for years. His parents didn’t exactly get out much in their older years, however, and so before the accident they’d told him he was more than welcome to take the family out to stay whenever he liked. He hasn’t taken them up on their offer more than twice, but it is just like he remembered. Only this time it’s just him and Claire. He bites down a small twinge of regret as he opens the front door, taking in the positively 80s decor. _It could stand to do with a little updating_ , Matt thinks, but part of him doesn’t want to change it. It reminds him of being a kid out on the beach, turning brown in the sun.

Looking down to Claire, he gives her a smile and a gentle push on her back.

“Go pick out a room and grab your swimsuit, kiddo,” Matt grins excitedly. “We’re gonna go build a sand castle.”

 

The ocean is even better up close. The salt, the sand, the pure energy of the waves lapping against the shore… If he hadn’t needed to leave, Matt is pretty sure he wouldn’t have. While there are beautiful things in Trinity, there is nothing like the east coast. He may be a ‘damn Yankee’, but he’s damn proud of it.

He and Claire spend their first afternoon building sand castles out of the moldable sand from the water’s edge, watching them go crashing down with the high tide. They splash about in the water, Claire deciding that she wants to be Ariel and simultaneously play Marco Polo at the same time. It’s a happy afternoon, one of the happiest Matt has experienced in a while, and for the span of 6 hours, he doesn’t think once about Trinity or what he’s left behind.

Later that evening, Claire finally passes out on the couch in front of a TV playing cartoons, exhausted from the day of driving and playing on the beach. Left to himself, Matt sits out on the porch, watching the sky. The wind blows gently on his face and he breathes in, the smell of the ocean something he never knew he missed. _How can this be so perfect_ , he thinks to himself as he reclines in the chair on the porch, his feet up.

This can’t possibly be real.

 

* * *

 

Trinity has done a number on Matt Crower, that’s for sure.

Caleb Temple steps through the doors of Juniper House, the twenty-nine year old smiling at the nurses and residents as he passes. It’s strange that he’s this friendly with them all, but he’s a regular visitor. He figures Father’s Day is the last day he should skip a visit.

“He’s not all there today, Caleb,” Dr. Mayfair tells him with a sad smile. “Though he looks as if he’s enjoying himself.”

“That’s all right, Doc,” the young man responds, nodding carefully. “I’d still like to sit with him, if that’s okay.”

“Perfectly fine,” the doctor says and he gestures for Caleb to follow him down the hall.

Caleb wonders if Matt will ever realize that he hasn’t left Juniper in twenty years. As he watches the older man, hair shaggier and greying, he sighs. He goes in spurts, Caleb notices, his reality - the one he’s imagined in his head - taking precedent. Even when he’s here, talking to Caleb and carrying on a conversation, it still seems like Matt’s in a dream. Like he thinks the entire exchange is a dream. It’s hard for Caleb to wrap his head around how someone so brilliant could wind up so far down that he couldn’t crawl his way up and out.

“Hey’a Doctor Matt,” he greets as he nears the other, hand landing gently on the older man’s shoulder. “It’s Father’s Day. Figured I’d come see ya.”

Matt turns and the look in his eyes is distant. He sees Caleb, but it’s clear he believes this to be a dream.

“Caleb?” he asks. He always asks, as if he can’t believe the man standing next to him could be the ten year old boy of his memories.

“Are you havin’ a good one?” Caleb asks in return, keeping the conversation flowing. Matt smiles, a genuine smile. It makes Caleb feel lighter, as though he was actually talking to the Matt he knew from before.

“Claire and I… we’re at the beach. I think… I’m _dreaming_ , Caleb. You’re so big now.” Matt’s words come out a bit jumbled and soft, though he still keeps that wistful smile on his face.

Caleb doesn’t want to tell Matt that Claire is still dead. He doesn’t want to bring up the fact that nothing of what he’s told him - the relationships he’s built, the visitors he’s seen in town, the _happiness_ that he’s experienced and cultivated for himself - none of it is reality.

“You be sure’n let her know it’s Father’s Day, Doctor Matt. She shouldn’t forget she’s got herself the best dad in the world.” He nods as he says it, emotion welling up in his chest. It’s more a reminder to himself than anything. Matt, when he was still around in Trinity, had been one of the better father figures he’d had.

As soon as Caleb finishes his sentence, he notes that Matt has gone again, staring off out the window at something in the distance. He wonders if it’s the ocean. Matt talks about the ocean a lot lately. Caleb supposes he misses it after staring out at trees for the better part of two decades.

 

After a while, Caleb says goodbye, giving the nurses and Dr. Mayfair another polite smile on his way out.

“You ever think he’ll come out of his delusion, Doc?” he asks, brows furrowing as he gives the psychologist in charge of Matt’s care a concerned look. The other doctor pauses for a while, unsure of what to say. Finally he gives Caleb a shrug of his shoulder.

“Only time will tell, Caleb. Matt’s a fighter… we just have to get him fighting for the right side.”

 

* * *

 

The sunrise wakes Matt and he sits up and stretches in bed, groggy from the dreams he had. He can’t seem to shake the ones where he’s in Juniper. He supposes he’ll never quite be able to get rid of those memories.

“Happy Father’s Day, Daddy,” Claire announces as she runs in the room and bounces on his bed, engulfing him in a hug. Matt gives her a smile and buries his nose in her hair as he hugs back, holding her tightly, strangely afraid to let her go.

“Thank you, my little bitty pretty one,” he responds. He still doesn’t feel quite right, as though everything here is still fragile, but he tries to shake the feeling for her. “How about we get some breakfast, hmm?”


End file.
